Black God
by BIT Necromancer
Summary: Minato runs into a girl named Yukari who says that they used to be friends. Minato is introduced to S.E.E.S. and starts to learn about his past memories but can he trust them? As Minato descends into his past, unseen forces in the present are using him in their diabolical plans for the future. *Spoilers* for P3FES. Rated M for violence later on.
1. Crossroads

_This is a story that has been in my head for a while now. I think it's about time I got it out of my head and onto paper (figuratively speaking)._

 _In an unrelated matter. Happy birthday Fuuka! The 22nd of December is (apparently) Fuuka's birthday and in Australia (where I live) and Japan (where the game is made) It is now the 22nd._

 _I still don't own Persona or any characters and settings used from the series._

* * *

 **Black God.**

Crossroads.

A boy stood at the top of the tower of darkness Tartarus. The sky above writhed violently as the moon descended through it. The boy raised his right arm and pointed at the moon. A thin beam of light extended from his finger strait up to its zenith where it connected him to the moon. A great and terrible wave of energy travelled from the moon down the pillar of light to the boy and from him outwards to swallow the entire world. Everything went black.

* * *

The boy floated in a completely different space now. Beneath him was the world he had been in a moment ago. Above him was a sky made up of an infinite number of other worlds. Between him and that sky was a being both dark and beautiful. A being know in the world below as Nyx. The boy began to reach out to Nyx but stopped. He turned to see a glowing reflection of himself behind him.

The glowing figure pointed at him. It grew brighter and brighter until the light engulfed both the boy and Nyx. When the light faded the glowing figure was gone and boy was chained to a great seal that stood between Nyx and the world, blocking each from view of the other.

As time continued in the world below the boy grew old. Not in body but in spirit and in mind he grew old until he was as stone. Below him humans carried on the same as always. The rich got richer while the poor got poorer, the weak suffered to profit the strong. In the boy's eyes if not in the eyes of the humanity the world continued eagerly towards its own destruction.

His friends carried on their lives without him. Sometimes his name was invoked in the name of their cause but never in the name of his. The messiah they praised couldn't possibly be him. Their Messiah could only be the one who stole everything away from him.

In a space apart from time he was imprisoned. Kept alive not by the light of hope but the flame of his own hatred. Sentenced by friend and foe alike to suffer for all eternity.

* * *

Minato awoke with a start. He threw off his covers in a panic before realizing that he wasn't really suffocating. His heart raced as the cold sweat from his nightmare lingered.

He'd dreamed of being unable to move, or speak, or breath. He tried to remember the contents of his nightmare to rationalize them away but as the cold sweat broke the details began to fade away and soon his heart had stopped racing enough for him to lie back down in bed.

He lay there for awhile waiting for his panic to subside completely before turning his head to stare at his clock. He noted with a weary disdain that it was only half an hour before he had to get up. He considered lying in bed until his alarm rang but the terror of his nightmare not forgotten he got out of bed and made an early start on the day.

* * *

After he finished his morning shift at the record store Minato was recruited by his boss to run errands. It was kind of a pain to help out right after his shift given the early start to the day he had. Minato liked his boss though. When Minato had been lying in an alley with half a decade missing from his memory the boss had rescued him and given him a place to stay and work. Minato was happy to do a favour for the boss.

There was a shop in the arcade off of the central crossing that apparently sold some "awesome band posters" that would look really good in the store. Minato didn't quite understand what the big deal was but now it was up to him to find this place and purchase some posters that would look good in the store.

He was standing at the crossing right now, across from the arcade, waiting to cross. He was surrounded by the large crowd of people waiting to cross and the smell of a nearby ramen joint. The babble of incoherent chatting was wearing away at his patience and the smell of ramen only made him hungry for lunch (a lunch which would probably be less satisfying than fresh ramen). Minato focused on the resonating voice of a newscaster coming from several TV's displayed in a nearby electronics store.

'...the NPA denied that it was investigating the Kirijo group in connection with last year's "Dark lord" hacker attacks. And now a word from our sponsors... At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products. Every day's great at your Junes...' The lights changed and The crowd began to move.

* * *

Yukari had just started her lunch break from the news office and as usual she was racing across town on the selfish whims of Junpei. He made a habit of asking her to lunch with him. Sometimes he invited others (usually Aigis or Fuuka), sometimes it was just Junpei (to Yukari's horror). It was a real pain rushing across town on her lunch break just to keep Junpei company but it wasn't like she had friends at work to have lunch with and she supposed it would be rude to turn him down.

She was cutting through the arcade past stores selling books and video games and one store that had some wicked looking band posters in the window. She rushed on towards the central crossing. The lights changed as she reached the crossing and she joined the crowd moving forward.

As she navigated among the hundreds of people passing through the crossing something caught her attention. A short man hunched over a backpack. As she got closer she caught a glimpse of the lined face of an old man.

She was going to ask if he needed any help when he took something out of the backpack. It looked like a paper wrapped package about the size of a (what is smaller than a watermelon and larger than a mango?), with wires coming out of it connected to an electronic device. he placed the package on the ground and pressed a button on the control pad. There was a beep and the old man slung the backpack on and walked away from the package.

Alarm bells rang in Yukari's mind but still she approached the package. There was nothing on the control pad indicating its purpose but the soft, steady, beeping of the device revealed the function of the package.

It was a bomb.

Yukari spun around but the old man was nowhere to be seen. She was about to cry out a warning but the last beep sounded with a bang. Yukari felt the explosion. It wasn't nearly as loud or as powerful as it should have been but it was bright. In a heartbeat everything was white and in a second Yukari had lost all sense of direction.

She stumbled blindly through the white haze until she fell and then she crawled. She could hear the panicked cries of people all around her and even collided with several of them but she saw no one. She kept crawling in what she hoped was a straight line until eventually the haze began to clear.

There was a sort of no-man's-land formed between the smoke and the people stopping to get a look at the explosion. Behind that emergency services were already gathering to tend to the victims then question them as suspects. People were exiting the smoke all around her desperately crawling towards the crowd to collapsed crying into their arms. Yukari was to proud to crawl but she could only manage to stand shakily and then stagger awkwardly away from the scene. Behind her someone screamed.

She spun around and lost her balance falling on her butt. Cursing her clumsiness she looked up to see someone emerging from the haze. at first she thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her but as his image became clearer she knew that he was real. It was the man she dreamed about every night in her sleep.

It was Minato.

* * *

Minato made his way calmly out of the haze. A lifetime of avoiding social interaction was finally paying off. It was certainly a pain when everything went white but he figured that the panicked mob of people that followed would be worse so he decided to suck it up started walking.

As the haze started to clear his antisocial senses started tingling. The first object to fully resolve was a young lady in pink who seem to have fallen on her butt like a gigantic klutz. Her eyes met his and didn't leave. Under the assault of her intense stare Minato faltered dropping his gaze.

'Minato?' At the sound of his name Minato look back at the lady. He had forgotten a lot of faces but there was no spark of recognition at hers. Still Minato's memory didn't have the best track record.

'Minato'. She said his name again with more conviction this time. She stood up without taking her eyes of him and walked towards him. 'It's really is you isn't it?' She reached out to touch his face but he took a step back into the haze. An expression of desperation and fear appeared on the lady's face.

'No, don't go! Don't leave again!'

Minato was scared of the desperation in this lady's eyes but he was more scared of not knowing why. Fighting the urge to run away Minato took half a step forward.

'How do you know me?... Who are you?' A flurry of emotions passed across the lady's face

'You don't remember?' This was awkward. It wasn't as simple as forgetting. The memories just weren't there.

'I have amnesia. I really don't know you so please just tell me who you are'. There was a long pause while the lady processed this information. Finally she answered.

'I'm Yukari. You need to come with me and meet the others'. Before Minato could object Yukari had grabbed his arm and was dragging him away. He struggled futilely but she either didn't notice or didn't care. Either way her grip was too strong for him to break it. They made their way back towards the crossing skirting around the haze until they reached the ramen joint he had smelled earlier. They stopped for a second outside, the entrance bared by customers standing outside looking at the drama in the street. As they stood outside Minato could see the TVs he had heard earlier.

'...the new Oracle tablet. Form a social link with your world...We're back with breaking news. Chaos has erupted in the heart of the city as an explosive device was detonated at...' Yukari, finally clearing a path, dragged him inside the building.

Inside the atmosphere was surprisingly calm. it seemed that the remaining customers were to absorbed in their noodles to worry about what was going on outside. Yukari was scanning the area looking for something. She must have found it because the next thing he knew he was being dragged towards one of the booths.

The booth in question had three people sitting on one side of it. Closest to the wall was man wearing a sports uniform of some kind completely absorbed in devouring the bowl of noodles in front of him. Next to him was a woman with teal hair wearing a pretty white dress, her fingers dancing across the surface of a tablet device. Closest to the aisle was a woman with unbelievably blond hair and blue eyes, observing the other woman's progress on the tablet.

Yukari guided him forcefully into the seat opposite the others and against the wall. She sat down next to him, either by design or by accident, blocking his exit. The man was the first one to see him. He looked up from his noodles, saw Minato and immediately choked on his noodles. This drew the attention of the other two women. The teal haired one put her tablet down and patted the man on the back. The blond looked at him concerned then her gaze turned to Minato and her mouth opened slightly in surprise. Then as the man recovered the teal haired woman turned her attention to the other side of the table locking eyes with Minato. Something about her eyes seemed to pierce right through him.

'Is that really you Minato?' the man shouted. Minato suddenly noticed the simultaneous attention of four people was on him and flinched. The three people opposite seemed taken aback by this reaction and their attention turned questioningly to Yukari.

'I ran into him outside a moment ago but he says he has amnesia'. All eyes turned back to Minato and under the pressure of their gaze Minato began to speak.

'I'm Minato, though I guess you know that already. Around 2008, 2009 my memory goes hazy and I don't have any clear memories until about a month ago... Do you know what happened to me?'

They all looked at each other, their faces reflecting fear and uncertainty. Getting the truth out of them was going to be hard. Then the teal haired one spoke up.

'You died Minato'.

* * *

 _And that was the first chapter. What did you think of it?_

 _Just a heads up that I'm writing this parallel to another story called Night Mother. You don't have to read it to understand this story but If you liked this or you're just looking for more stuff to read then try reading that one as well._

 _There are still some things I'm not sure about with this chapter so please review and let me know your thoughts._

 _I'd like to thank La Vie Musicale for Beta reading this for me._

 _Congratulations for making it to the end of my authors notes. Now I'm going to arbitrarily pick a track from my playlist and say that Minato was listening to that during this chapter regardless of his ability to do so. In this chapter Minato was listening to "Awaken" by Disturbed. I do not own the rights to Awaken by Disturbed._


	2. Meetings

_So It's been almost three months since I posted the first chapter. I'm really sorry. I wish I had a good reason for taking so long but aside from getting "Persona 4 Dancing All Night" for christmas it mostly comes down to procrastination. I'll try to get future chapters out faster in future (with a possible caveat for the SMASH! fanfic competition in August)._

 _I once again remind you that I do not own Persona 3 or any of the characters and settings from the game. They are owned by ATLUS I believe._

* * *

Meetings.

'The explosive device detonated in the heart of the city yesterday has turned out to be a harmless home-made flash bomb. Police however are taking the matter very seriously. While there were no fatalities several people were injured in the ensuing panic and many businesses were disrupted by the incident. Police are yet to confirm whether this was a prank or something more serious...More on that story as it develops... In other news super Idol Kanami Mashita as recently opened up about her reasons for leaving Kanamin Kitchen to go solo...'

Mitsuru muted the report. It seemed the Kirijo groups problems had been forgotten between yesterday's incident and the latest idol gossip. As she was about to return to those problems a beeping from her intercom announced a message from her secretary.

'Yes?'

'Milady, Miss Takeba is here. I told her busy you are but she insists on seeing you'. Mitsuru smiled hearing that familiar line. Her close friend Yukari Takeba had insisted on seeing her several times in the past.

Mitsuru always tried to make time for her friends, especially Yukari. Even so her position in the Kirijo group meant that inevitably she would sometimes be too busy to see them. Yukari was understanding of this but also determined to keep her from being cut off from the world. Yukari was her lifeline dragging her back into the world when she became trapped in work. Mitsuru had realized this the very first time Yukari had come to her office demanding to see her, and had resolved never to turn her away.

'Send her in' Mituru replied as per usual. She gathered up the documents on Kirijo's latest crisis and locked them away.

Her secretary (Who, like the rest of her personal staff insisted on dressing as a maid) showed Yukari in, bowing as she closed the door behind her. Yukari crossed her impractically large office at a quick pace and got straight down to business.

'Minato is alive!' Yukari said, her words and his name immediately drawing Mitsuru's full attention.

'Where is he?'

'I don't know, I forgot to ask him where he lives, I found him yesterday at the crossing when that bomb went off and apparently he can't remember any of us'.

'Wait! Slow down. You said you were both at the explosion yesterday? I think you need to start at the beginning and tell me everything'.

Yukari then went on to tell the whole story starting with her rushing across town for ramen and ending with everything discussed with Minato over ramen. Mitsuru paid close attention, taking a mental note of everything Minato remembered and all the information on his current status. She would have to contact Fuuka and Aigis later and see if they had noted anything significant about him.

'I want to get everyone together and arrange another meeting with him. If we're all together I'm sure we can make him remember everything'. Yukari had a determined look in her eyes. Mitsuru could appreciate how important it was for her friend that Minato should regain his memories. Given the situation however they couldn't afford to rush this.

'Does he remember anything about the dark hour?'

'I don't think so. Even if he doesn't though I'm sure if we're all there he will remember'.

'I'm not saying he won't remember, but he might need time to remember everything and we don't want to scare him off. Until we know more about how he returned to us we shouldn't tell him more than he needs to know'.

'I know that maybe it will take some time but what are we supposed to do until then. Lie to him?'

'Don't worry about it. I'll talk to the others and we'll figure out how to handle this. When do you have time off work, I'll need to get everyone's schedules so I can work out when we can all meet'.

'I'm free anytime' Yukari responded without hesitation. Mitsuru doubted that but decided not to argue the point. Yukari would give anything to have Minato back.

After saying goodbye to her she opened her own schedule. Tomorrow she had planned to lead a private investigation into the criminal dubbed "The Dark Lord Hacker". The next day she had an important board meeting regarding the new competitor that had recently overtaken the Kirijo group. In two days' time, she had set aside time to track down a crate stolen from Ergo research…

Just a moment ago she thought Yukari was here to save her from this work. Looking at it now it was clear that it was a ridiculous workload. She allowed herself a small self-deprecating smile.

She crossed off the "Dark Lord" and Ergo research missions. Right now, only the board could stop her from seeing Minato.

* * *

Outside the sun shone bright on a seaside vista as it sped by the window. Even five minutes away from the port plenty of boats could be seen on the water making the most of a popular location and "perfect" weather.

Inside the train Minato stood watching the scene fly by. Half hidden behind his hair, headphones and black clothes he couldn't help feeling out of place.

It had only been two days ago that he had been confronted about his amnesia by his forgotten friends. They had told him that he died but when he pressed them for details they hadn't been able to provide much detail. They suggested meeting up with more of his friends in a familiar place to try and explain and see if it jogged his memory. Minato made a half-hearted promise to meet up with them again and then made a hasty retreat.

It should have ended with that, but when he mentioned it in passing to his boss he immediately blew it way out of proportion. Minato was told to take whatever time he needed to reacquaint himself with his old friends. He tried telling his boss that he didn't know when they would be next available but his boss just insisted that he take the week off work. Sometimes the boss was just too nice.

The next day Yukari called to tell him that her friends had agreed on a time and place to meet. Now Minato was on his way to Iwatodai.

Tatsumi Port Island came into view in the distance. The city shone with the sun reflecting off almost every surface. The city had fallen on hard times a few years ago when a mysterious illness had crippled the city. Yet even after the sickness passed people were still wary of the city. Gradually though visitors had begun to trickle back into the city. Recently some bigwig had even bought up some of the land and turned it into a popular park drawing in crowds anew.

'Iwatodai is the next stop, Iwatodai'.

The train pulled into the station and Minato disembarked. Outside the station he spotted Yukari and a group of people that must be her friends waiting at the base of the stairs.

Yukari was no longer wearing an office suit but dressed in jeans and a sleeveless pink top. He recognized Junpei and Aigis as well. Both were dressed the same as last time, still wearing a sports uniform and long black coat respectively.

Yukari was chatting with rather attractive and regal looking woman with long red hair wearing a black blouse under a white jacket and black skirt. Each item seemed to scream 'rich and successful'.

Next to her was a man with crew cut white hair wearing a casual cream colored suit that was stretched over a heavily muscled frame. He was talking to a young man with brown hair wearing jeans and an orange T-shirt.

There was also a very old looking white Shibu loitering around the group. As Minato approached the dog noticed him and ran towards him. Minato waited until the dog stopped in front of him before offering his hand for the dog to smell. The dog ignored the hand, instead barking twice at him in a friendly manner.

'Koromaru says that he is relieved to see safe and healthy'. Aigis said. Minato ignored the statement. It wasn't that unusual for people to think their pets could talk.

'Is he safe?' He asked, unsure how to react to a dog so completely unwary of him. He sensed an awkward ripple go through the group. The dog even whined a little.

'He is quite safe and very friendly'. Hearing that Mianto cautiously reached out to pat the dog. The animal was a little less than happy but allowed him to keep petting. Minato focused his attention on the dog, steeling himself to converse with the large group of "new" old friends. Eventually tiring of the attention the dog broke away from him and joined the others. Minato reluctantly returned his attention to the group.

'There's a restaurant in strip mall across the street that you used to like' Yukari started awkwardly.

'We can talk there while we eat'. He joined the other as they made their way across the street and up to the second floor of the strip mall where a small restaurant was tucked away in one corner. Once inside Minato grabbed a seat at the corner of a table near the door to avoid being surrounded. The others sat down, a waitress came over and took their orders (Minato after some indecision was informed that he liked the prodigy platter). As they waited for their orders Yukari started introductions.

'So you've met Junpei and Aigis...' Junpei waved and Aigis nodded with a smile.

'These are Mitsuru, Akihiko and Ken...' Yukari indicated the woman, big guy and young man respectively.

'And of course Korumaru'. The dog was currently hiding under their table.

'Wasn't there someone else with you guys?'

'Oh, Fuuka couldn't make it. Something came up at the last minute that she had to take care of'.

'Again! Seriously! She's even busier than senpai nowadays' Junpei said looking at Mitsuru.

'Indeed, she certainly doesn't let a lack of effort tarnish the quality of her work'.

The waitress returned and started serving their orders. Once they were all served (the prodigy platter turned out to be more of a fish soup than a platter) they thanked the staff and began eating.

'So how much do you remember?' Ken asked.

'I remember being told that I would be transferring to a school on Tatsumi Port Island, I think I remember setting off on the train to my new dorm but after that my memory gets murky'.

'Has anything come back to you since our last meeting?' Aigis asked. She hadn't eaten anything yet but was sneaking food under the table for the dog.

'Nothing'. He scooped a fish eye out of his soup and crushed it with his tongue, allowing the delicious taste of eyeball to coat the inside of his mouth. The look on Yukari's face like she was going to be sick almost made him scoop up another one straight away.

'What about your family? Surely they mentioned us' Akihiko said surreptitiously adding protein powder to his soup.

'My family? I don't talk to them if I can help it. If they think I'm dead then it's for the best'.

'What do you mean it's for the best?! They're your family! They were devastated at your funeral!' Yukari said in a raised voice.

'It might have looked like that but they were just keeping up appearances'. Yukari had no answer for that, Mitsuru interjected.

'Even if that is true you still need to contact them. It's understandable if you need time to come to terms with all this but once you're ready you have to let them know you're alright'. Minato bit back an angry retort. She was wrong; Grandfather would never forgive him for what happened with his parents. The rest wouldn't dare get on the wrong side of grandfather.

'We've been asking all the questions but you have even more questions than us, go ahead and ask them'.

'How did I die?' The question was answered by another pause.

'We don't really know' Mitsuru said.

'What do you mean you don't know? Are you even sure that I died?' It was obvious they weren't fully answering his questions. Were they hiding something or were they just pretending to know what they had already told him? Aigis spoke up.

'On graduation day back in 2010 we all promised to meet up on the school roof. When everyone arrived you had fallen asleep. We tried to wake you but were unable to do so. We took you to a hospital were you slept for several days before your heart stopped beating. The doctors were unable to determine why your heart stopped. You were cremated a few days later. Many people from our school your family and elsewhere came to send you off. You were dearly missed'.

An unexplained death follow followed by an equally unexplained resurrection. It didn't make any sense. Even without an explanation for what had happened there must be a theory, there must be clues. And try as he might he couldn't picture his own funeral crowded with people. He barely talked to other people. How could he have so many people missing him?

'Where is my grave?'

'Whoa! Getting a little morbid there…' Junpei said

'Don't you have more important things to ask? Like who your high school sweetheart is'. Minato didn't quite know how to respond to that. It was ridiculous on so many important levels.

'So where is my grave?'

'It's near the shrine here in Iwatodai'. Ken answered. 'I can show you where it is if you like' He offered

'Hey! Why are you guys ignoring me?'

'You started it. I'm trying to ask a serious question and you make some lame joke about me having a girlfriend'.

'Actually you do have a girlfriend'. Yukari said with a straight face.

'Sure I do' Minato said laughing. He looked around the table but no one else showed any signs of laughing.

'You're kidding me?' No one blinked. Even the dog seemed to be quieter.

'Who?' Every face turned to Yukari. He was speechless.

The implication was clear but incomprehensible. She wasn't his type at all. To be sure he didn't have a type but if he did have a type she wouldn't be it. Friends was believable, if in need of some explanation, but girlfriend was beyond belief. Yet on this point in their story they showed no sign of holding back or lying.

'You lost me. How do I even know you guys? So we went to the same school. Is that all that connects us?'

'We were all part of same club at school. The special extracurricular execution squad or S.E.E.S. for short'.

'What's that supposed to be? Is it like some sort of the going home early club?'

'No! It's sort of a club for people with special circumstances geared towards helping the local community'. It sounded rehearsed...and ridiculous. Minato couldn't see himself giving up time after school to pick up rubbish and help old ladies across the street. Unless it wasn't voluntary.

'What? Like some sadistic re-imagining of detention?'

'No! We all worked hard to make the city a better place and you worked the the hardest of any of us towards that goal'. Mitsuru paused.

'Perhaps we didn't realise how much you had changed in that time. You've probably forgotten what your true potential is as a person'.

'Maybe you're all lying to me and I should just leave!'

The hurt look in their eyes told him that perhaps he had gone too far.

'Sorry, but it's a lot to take in and it's hard to believe everything you've said'.

'That's ok. Just meeting with us shows that you've regained some of the trust you once had in us. It would be foolish to believe it would all just come back to you'.

'How about this? Tomorrow three of us will come back here and show you around. We'll see if anything comes back to you'.

'Wait a minute! What makes you think I'm free tomorrow?' Minato was free, of course. He was painfully aware of all the free time his boss had given him. He could kill him if he wasn't eternally grateful to him.

'Sorry, you're right. How about you call my office and leave a message when you've got time and I'll see who is free to show you around'. Minato gave a noncommittal shrug before drinking what was left of his soup.

Mitsuru gave him a business card with the logo for the Kirijo group on it.

'Wait, you're "that" Kirijo?' Mitsuru nodded. The Kirijo group was an organization with an ominous presence in Japan. He felt more nervous but also more curious about what there connection might be.

As they all made to leave Yukari locked eyes with him. It was obvious that she wanted to say more about the revelation of their relationship but there was no way he could face that right now.

'So Ken, can you show me where this grave is?' he said lowering his gaze from Yukari's burning eyes and turning to Ken.

'Sure, follow me'.

Minato felt bad about avoiding her, especially if they really were in a relationship. Eventually he would have to deal with it but right now with no memories to guide him he couldn't possibly face her.

* * *

 _That's it. I hope you enjoyed it._

 _I know what your thinking. Your thinking "But BIT Necromancer, you like Fuuka so why is Yukari Minato's boyfriend? Minato wouldn't date her in a million years". Okay maybe not that second part._

 _I do like Fuuka (putting it lightly) and while I admit that there's nothing wrong with Minato x Yukari and I don't want to hate on Yukari, I don't like her very much. And that is all I have to say for now._

 _I should probably mention that this story doesn't take into account events that happened after Persona 3. Anything that happened in Persona 4 or it's sequels doesn't necessarily happen in the universe of this story. In this story Kanami Mashita doesn't come to the same resolutions she did in "Dancing All Night". It's not terribly important to the story but there might be some cameos from familiar characters who don't quite act the way we remember them._

 _As always your thoughts and criticism is welcome. I can't do better unless you tell me what I'm doing wrong._

 _As for things I've done right I'd like to thank CausticRaven for Beta reading this for me and fixing some of my mistakes. I'd also like to thank those few people who decided to favorite or subscribe to this story. I do see you and I appreciate your support of my story._

 _You've reached the end of the authors comments. To celebrate the occasion let me tell you something that wasn't in the story (because songfics are bad?). Minato was listening to "(Per)Version of the Truth" by Mudvayne. I do not own (Per)Version of the Truth._


	3. Old Friends

_I'm not dead. Worse, I'm just taking forever to write. Please forgive me._

 _First, I want to let everyone know that I've added some notices to my profile regarding some of my other stories. If you've asked a question in an anonymous review for another one of my stories, I've probably answered it there._

 _Second, 'Black God' has it's first review from Vangran, thanks for the support. I certainly hope my story can live up to your expectations, I haven't read that many stories about Minato's return but I do think this one is going to be a little different. I am going to touch on Minato's relationships with the other girls later, I just thought I'd let you all know that this story's Minato x Yukari pairing is written in sand._

 _I remind you that I don't own Persona 3 or any characters and settings from that game. They belong to ATLUS._

* * *

Old Friends

Minato lay in his bed, staring vaguely at the ceiling. Midday light struggled bravely against his heavy curtains to enter the room. Bright shafts of light streamed into the room illuminating random segments and giving shape, if not substance, to the rest. He'd been in bed most of the day, getting up briefly to grab a snack before returning to his room.

He didn't have any work to do. His shifts at the record store had already been promised to others. Usually he spent his days off one of two ways. The first was staying inside all day listening to music, watching anime, playing video games or reading. The second was going out to buy new anime, video games or books (he lived above the record store so he didn't really need to go out to buy new music). Minato was never really a very social person.

…Or was he?

If his old friends were to be believed he had once been a 'queen bee' of sorts. It wasn't an impossible story; he got along well enough with his co-workers. Sometimes one might even join him to play video games or marathon an anime. He never went out of his way to spend time with them though. This idea that he would just walk around a town randomly making friends for no other reason than being friendly just didn't make sense to him.

The more he thought about it, the less it made sense. He didn't believe for a second the story that he had died and came back to life; that was just crazy. Either they were lying to him or something else was happening that had them all duped. Whatever the case, they were all too accepting of his death and resurrection.

On top of all that was his relationship with Yukari. He couldn't make heads or tails of that one.

Minato pushed himself violently into a sitting position, frustration driving him to do something but his indecision strangled his resolve at his first action. Their story was wrong. They remembered him, that alone he believed but everything else was wrong.

What was right though? A knocking at his door interrupted his thoughts.

"Are you in there Minato?" his boss questioned through the door. Minato considered for half a second remaining silent, but he couldn't lie to the boss like that.

"I'm here." Minato called out. He went to open the door but the boss continued speaking ignoring the closed door.

"So, how are things going with those old friends of yours?"

"Oh... things are fine... it's just that thing are so busy today that we couldn't meet up" Minato lied. He then mentally kicked himself for lying to the boss. See what these new friends of his did to him.

"You know I'm not trying to force you into something your uncomfortable with." He sighed. "I know all these friends coming back into your life is stressful, you've been thrust into the deep end of a new social group and forced to swim, it might seem hard right now but the fact of the matter is that you've already done this before so you've got nothing to be afraid of now."

Minato chuckled inwardly. The boss was always giving out advice. He might seem scary on the outside but he had a heart of gold.

But still...

"I don't know if I can trust them. They say they remember me and I believe them, but none of the things they remember make sense. It's like they're all suffering from some delusion that I can't disprove because I have don't have the memories to contradict them". On the other side of the door was silence. Minato could almost see the boss mulling it over.

"People never remember us quite the way we think we are. It's natural to feel confronted by all these memories that they have and you don't. Don't be disheartened, I'm certain that if you keep going back eventually the memories will follow and it will all start making sense". Minato opened his mouth in reply, but said nothing.

"Just think about it" the boss said before he could be heard walking away.

Minato sat down at his computer desk and considered the problem again. However he looked at it, he didn't trust them as a friend would. It was hard work trying to keep up with the friendship the members of S.E.E.S. showed him. Still, however unreliable their information might be, it was the only lead he had regarding his lost memories. He had to pursue this if he ever wanted to learn the truth.

With one last moment of hesitation Minato plucked his mobile from off the corner of his desk and dialled the number Mitsuru had given him.

"Lady Kirijo's office- this is Miyo speaking, how may I help you?" A professional-sounding voice answered after only one ring.

"This is Arisato Minato, could you please pass on a message, that I'm free tomorrow".

* * *

Once again Minato stood outside Iwatodai station, staring down the stairs at members of S.E.E.S.

As promised it was a smaller group than before, only Akihiko, Ken, Junpei and the dog Koromaru.

"Hey Minato!" Junpei yelled, waving his arms boisterously as if he didn't stand out enough already. Passers-by were already throwing glances at the group that included a man in sports gear and a suspiciously muscular man in a dark suit.

"Hey, Junpei." Minato replied mechanically as he approached him.

"Come on man! You've got to be more enthusiastic! We're not as young as we used to be but the day is beautiful and you're finally getting reacquainted with your 'numero uno' friend- Junpei Iori!"

"I'm sorry, but my memory hasn't come back and I don't know, but are you on any prescription medication that I should be aware of?"

Minato almost immediately regretted his rudeness. Junpei for his part gave an exaggerated look of shock. Akihiko and Ken however laughed.

"Some things never change" Akihiko said simply in reply to the quizzical look Minato shot him. It seemed this was a familiar dynamic between Junpei and him.

"So where are we touring today?" he asked with a slight boost in his confidence.

"We're going to check out our old dorm." Akihiko said.

"Do you know where it is?" asked Ken.

"That way… I think". He pointed west.

"That's right- now lead the way". Minato lead them west until they reached a T intersection and made to turn left before Akihiko cleared his throat.

"It's actually faster if we turn right here". Minato took the right and continued down the street until Junpei tapped him on the shoulder.

"It's this way man." He said, gesturing left to a side street. They continued down the side street, Junpei in the lead now, until they reached the dorm.

"This is the place?"

"So you do remember!" Junpei exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure..." Minato replied half heartedly. Minato knew the building straight away- four stories with exaggerated western architecture. He didn't recognise it at all, but it was obvious from the facade that this must be the snooty private school dorm that the guys were referring to. The building really stood out next to it's suburban neighbours.

As they approached the entrance, the doors opened and a young girl stepped out. She had brown hair just past shoulder length and was wearing grey track-pants and a white T-shirt. Her eyes passed from Ken to Junpei, to Akihiko, to Minato with an increasing look of alarm. She emitted a small squeak before disappearing back inside the dorm.

They all stood there, stunned by the curious display for a second before Akihiko stepped forward and pressed the buzzer next to the door. Minato wondered for a second what a girl was even doing at a boys' dorm, then he realized exactly what she must have been doing and put it out of his mind. More questions were raised however when another girl answered the door.

"Can I help you?"

"We're the guys who wanted to take a tour of the dorm" Akihiko replied politely. The girl, who must be the one running the dorm, gave them all an appraising glance.

"I bet you do" she said dryly. It seemed obvious now that they had accidentally arrived at the girls' dorm but amazingly the girl stood aside, allowing them to enter. Inside was a spacious room discreetly broken up into a lounge and dining area by a small glass divider.

"Please, take a seat." she said, brokering no argument. Minato quickly grabbed the nearest chair. Akihiko, Junpei and Ken sat together on the lounge to his left, with Koromaru loitering next to Ken. The girl spared the dog a brief glance before taking a seat opposite Minato.

"Kirijo has told me about you guys. However, you must appreciate how unusual this situation is". She cast a stern eye over all of them, not at all intimidated by the group of older men.

"You are allowed to tour the dorm, but only under my supervision, and you won't be allowed to enter any of the students rooms".

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what's going on here. Why exactly are we touring the girls' dorm?" Minato asked the group at large. Their guide gave him a look that clearly said 'that's what I want to know' but Akihiko spoke up.

"This isn't a girls' dorm. It's co-ed". The girl cleared her throat, giving Akihiko a disaproving look.

"This dorm isn't co-ed, it's been a girls' dorm ever since it reopened".

"Really? Mitsuru didn't tell me that. Why did they change it?"

"Wait! Wouldn't a better question be what idiot made it co-ed in the first place? I can't be the only one here who sees why that idea is really bad, right?" Minato asked.

"You're not the only one" the girl said. The three men on the couch exchanged glances. This was the part where they started covering up the truth. Maybe if he paid close enough attention he could spot where the lies ended and the truth began. They were saved however by an uninvited guest.

"I've been waiting for you!"

Their attention was drawn to a girl standing behind their guide. It was the girl they saw before transformed. The track-pants had been replaced with a denim miniskirt, the plain white T-shirt had been replaced with a low cut pink blouse underneath a short sleeved denim jacket. Her hair had been tied into two pigtails and her face had a new layer of make-up on it. She was currently glaring right at him.

"Can I help you with something Maiko?" their guide asked.

"This is the guy I told you about Rin- my true love".

"Your what?!" Minato exclaimed. He looked to the others for help but they looked as clueless as him right now.

"Don't play dumb! You promised you'd wait for me to get older and then we'd get married, but when I came back you had disappeared and I couldn't find you!"

"Kid you're like, 16 years old. Even if I did believed you, which I don't, you'd still have to keep waiting".

"What do you mean you don't believe me?"

Minato had been forced to accept a lot of new facts about his past recently (most of which he hadn't really accepted). He drew the line, however, with this girls claim that he had promised to marry her back when she was probably still in kindergarten. The thought of him having long meaningful conversations with this girl when she was six was laughable.

What seemed clear however was that whoever this girl was she wasn't affiliated with S.E.E.S. If he could get her to talk sense, perhaps he could find some useful information about his past.

"I think I'd remember something like proposing to a child less than half may age". Maiko glared at him, he met her glare with an indifferent stare. Any moment now she would crack and tell him the truth.

"You really suck!" she cried tearing up. She spun dramatically on one heel and ran from the room, the sound of her tears muffled only after she had reached the second floor.

"…You're kind of a jerk, aren't you?" Rin casually noted.

"That's not true!" Ken exclaimed, his sudden outburst catching them all by surprise. Ken squirmed under the sudden scrutiny of all in the room but after a moment continued speaking.

"Maybe he's a little rude and losing his memories has made him kind of a loner… But when it really counts, Minato will prove that he is one of the good guys, just like he always has before!" Akihiko and Junpei nodded in agreement, even Koromaru gave an (apparently) approving woof.

"That's a load of crap" Minato said calmly, wiping the smug looks from their faces.

"There's no such thing as 'good guys', I don't even believe in good people. Good is just a label people use to try and justify their actions. People are faced with choices every moment of their lives, but if some actions are 'good' actions then we can make those choices without having to think too hard about the consequences. Good people are a self-deception- It's a lie we tell ourselves about who someone else is that we tell ourselves to justify the trust we place in them. Anyone can make 'good' choices, just the same way anyone can ostracize someone for not being one of the 'good guys'".

Now it was his turn so squirm. All the guys wore the same expression of pity mixed with defiance. None of them spoke, whatever proof they had of his supposed heroic past remained secret.

"...You truely are a jerk." Rin noted in her now familiar dry tone.

"No one's disputing that" he said and, raising no verbal objections, continued.

"Now are you just going to provide commentary, or were you actually going to give us a tour?" Rin shrugged off the criticism, standing up and gesturing to the counter next to the door.

"Over there is the dorm's office where I personally slave away to keep this place running, next to that is the first floor toilets for guests, behind me is the dining and kitchen area used predominantly for our annual pre Valentine's chocolate burning event, next to that is the stairs leading to our private rooms- which are none of your business". Rin recited the list with a dedication that bordered on not sarcastic.

"This concludes the tour". She finished with an extremely sarcastic bow.

"What about the fourth floor meeting room?" Junpei asked.

"Converted into more rooms for students".

"What about the roof?" Akihiko asked.

"…What about it? There's nothing up there" Rin asked suspiciously.

"Maybe not for you, but our friend here has memories up there." Akihiko said defensively, shooting a glance at him.

"I know you and Junpei used to sneak up there all the time, right Junpei?"

"Huh?... Oh yeah... guess you knew about that" Junpei chimed in awkwardly. Rin wasn't convinced, Minato wasn't convinced, but still even an obvious pretense was enough.

"Very well, I'll take you to the roof but you will stay within my sight at all times and there will be no detours, or else..." Rin was shorter than any of them but gave off such a violent aura that Minato doubted any of them would challenge her. Rin ushered them towards the stairs. As soon as they reached the second floor, he spotted a brown eye peeking at him through the gap of a door before it was shut and a familiar wailing filled the hall.

"Shouldn't we apologise to her and explain that Minato has amnesia to her?" Junpei asked.

"That's oddly thoughtful of you." Ken blurted out.

"You trying to say something, Ken." Junpei challenged.

"Sorry. I just sometimes forget how much you've changed since Chidori".

"Who's Chidori?" Minato asked.

"She was my girlfriend... She died".

"Oh... I take it that she didn't come back with amnesia". He realised his mistake almost as soon as he finished speaking. Junpei didn't say anything but the look in his eyes said it all.

"Sorry".

"Don't worry about it. So… are you going to apologise to her?"

"I'm really sorry about being so rude to Chidori." Junpei scratched the back of his head with an awkward look on his face.

"Thanks, but I wasn't talking about her, I was talking about her." Junpei said, gesturing towards the room emanating the sound of wailing.

"I wouldn't be too hasty if I were you- Maiko has a habit of being over-dramatic." Rin interjected.

"Are you saying she made it all up?"

"No, she has talked about proposing to a guy before, but she's smart enough not to get worked up over some childish proposal she made years ago."

They continued on to the roof where their progress was halted by security pad. Rin entered some numbers into the device only for it to only for it to beep three times flashing the message 'LOCKED'. She tried again but was again rejected.

"Shouldn't you know the code as part of your duties?"

"Shut up- no one ever uses the roof." Minato stepped forward and without even thinking pressed a new sequence of keys on the device. The machine beeped once and displayed the message 'UNLOCKED".

"Just so you know, I'm resetting the code once you guys leave" Rin huffed. She opened the door and led them outside.

The bright midday light shone down on the neglected rooftop. It wasn't a scene of disrepair, but simply one of a forgotten space. Aside from a few weather stains the roof was barren of any significant detail, it was just an unused roof.

"Welcome to the Iwatodai dorm's illustrious roof. I'd like to ask you at this time to turn off all phones and recording devices, thank you." Rin droned, sarcasm back in full swing.

As Minato walked towards the center of the roof the sun caught his eye, almost blinding him. The uncomfortable brightness was followed by a sudden vertigo and he was dimly aware of falling to his knees. The vertigo was followed by a stabbing burning pain in his head like something was trying to cut its way out with a red hot knife. His vision started to swim before his eyes, black lines criss-crossed across his vision like shadowy arms encircling him. His hearing, the last tenuous grip he had on reality, delivered the sound of panicked voices.

"What's going on?"

"What is that!?"

"Hey!... Get a hold of yourself!"

Behind the understandable sounds of panic was another voice that was insanely calm and it didn't belong to anyone on that roof.

"Thou art... am thou... thy soul I... I am..." The last thing Minato registered before blacking out was the sound of inhuman screaming.

* * *

Two hours later Junpei sat in Hagakure with Akihiko. After Minato regained consciousness he had been quick to insist that nothing was wrong. When they had suggested that they take him to see a doctor he had become quite irritated and insisted on going home. Ken had offered to see him home safely which he had reluctantly agreed to. Junpei and Akihiko had remained to make sure Rin was okay.

"Was that a persona back there?" For just a moment as Minato began to lose it a translucent specter had been visible floating above him. It wasn't clear enough to make out any details but what else could it be.

"I don't think it was a persona. At least not exactly..." Akihiko replied. He stared at Akihiko dumbstruck waiting for him to elaborate.

"Minato's memories of the dark hour still haven't surfaced, if his persona had reawakened his memory would have returned."

"Is that why you were so insistent on going to the roof? To trigger his memory of his persona?"

"Not exactly. We're still not sure if Minato's amnesia is biological or if it is connected to his time as a persona user. I had to try and test it to see where things stand." It sounded kind of underhanded but Junpei didn't doubt Akihiko's intentions.

"Mitsuru's current theory is that his persona is sleeping but he still has the heightened potential of an active persona user. Stronger still in his case, given how powerful he was."

"What does that mean?"

"Ever since Nyx was sealed, we haven't had any particularly dangerous Shadows appear, Minato's power is a new hazard far more dangerous than any current Shadow. If he does lose control of his powers, we may need to intervene as Shadow operatives in order to protect humanity from him".

"You don't mean..." his blood ran cold at the thought of what Akihiko was suggesting. Akihiko saw the fear in his eyes and shook his head.

"I doubt it would come to that, even if it did we have ways of restraining unruly persona users. As long as we keep an eye on him and stay vigilant, then we can stop him before he loses control completely, if it comes to that." Akihiko placed a hand supportively on his shoulder and silence fell between them. There was another question on Junpei's mind. He didn't really know how to bring it up and felt like crap for thinking about the possibility in the first place. There wasn't even any guarantee that Akihiko would be able to answer his question. Still if he didn't ask it, it would just keep eating at him.

"So... Do you guy have any idea how Minato was resurrected yet?"

"No idea. Mitsuru might know something but she hasn't said anything. Maybe she just doesn't want us running with some tenuous theory that's probably wrong." Akihiko's face scrunched up a little as he said that. Even after all they had been through Mitsuru still sometimes took too much responsibility on herself, and Akihiko always worried about her.

"Do you think it's possible that Chidori might come back?" Even without looking up Junpei could tell that Akihiko was looking at him empathetically.

"Mitsuru would have said something if she thought that was possible... I'm sorry". He shook his head, dismissing Akihiko's apology.

"That's alright man. Thanks for being honest".

* * *

 _And that's it for now._

 _I know it isn't really six months worth of material. I'm so sorry. There will be some more exotic locales and plot expansion next chapter, promise._

 _I'd like to thank both 'La Vie Musicle' and 'Caustic Raven' for sacrificing some of thier own time to beta read this for me. I really can't thank you guys enough. Thanks again to Vangran for the support and to everyone who favorites or follows my stories. It's depressing that so many of you had to wait so long, but that's all the more reason for the next chapter to come out faster._

 _Any criticisms, critiques, cures for writers block or demands for faster writing are welcome so please leave a review._

 _This chapter Minato was listening to 'Remember' by Disturbed and Maiko was listening to 'All the Single Ladies' (Because why not). I don't own 'Remember' or 'All the Single Ladies'._


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